I did something similar, I turned it inside out and hosed it off in my driveway. That seemed to clean it pretty well, but took some effort and I got a bit wet. Lol. I will probably try the washing machine method. I basically have three full sets, so I should be able to go for at least two weeks between washes.
I will update again after I do my water change this weekend, but for now, here’s how things are going:
I am still on the second set of filter socks. I think that the first set got clogged up very quickly because of all of the stuff that came out of my old filter sponges and floss when I removed them. I’ll be honest, I did not do as good of maintenance as I should have with the sponges and floss, so they were probably in there near 1.5-2 months. When I removed them, my whole tank turned brown because of everything that fell out of them while I was getting them out. This is probably what caused the first filter socks to clog so quickly. I have definitely noticed a big improvement in my tank’s water clearity. So far, this has been a great upgrade. I am hoping that the filter socks will last for at least a week so I can just change them out during my weekly water change. I plan on changing the water, giving the tank a day to clear up, and then switching to new filter socks. That way the new ones don’t get all clogged up from me stirring up the sand during the water change. Then, every two weeks I will have two sets to run through the washer with some bleach. I might eventually get more so that I don’t have to wash them as much. I sure wish I would’ve done this from the beginning. Lol